Trepid Explorer
by Loopstagirl
Summary: He didn't have Scott asking why. He didn't have Gordon crying. How hard could it be to be left with his two middle sons? Happy birthday, Angel-Sue!


_Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights belong to their respective owners._

_Angel-Sue - happy birthday beautiful! Thank you for being such an amazing friend and always being there, no matter what. Have a wonderful day filled with smiles! Love you!_

* * *

"Jeff?"

His head turning towards the voice, Jeff looked around from where he had been sitting in the sun, enjoying being able to just stop and breathe for a moment. Business had been hectic and this was the first weekend he had actually been at home for the entire thing for at least a month and a half. His family had certainly enjoyed having him back and, even being out in the yard for over two hours, John was still running up to him every ten minutes. The four year old was claiming he just wanted to show his daddy what he had found, but Jeff knew better than that. John was too smart for his own good – he was just checking the man was still there.

"You off?" Craning around, Jeff had to smile at the car seat balanced in his wife's arms. Their usual terror was fast asleep, looking peaceful. If only he could have done that at 2am, Jeff knew things would be a lot easier. Lucy nodded, holding out her arm until Jeff took Gordon from her.

"Johnny, watch Virgil for a moment, I'm going to help your mom," Jeff called, already heading out of the side-gate towards the car. He heard his young son call back his promise that he would keep an eye on his two year old brother just before his wife shut the gate firmly behind them. Just because John and Virgil were preoccupied for the moment, neither parent trusted their inquisitive sons to stay put – not when there was a chance they could help with the baby.

"If they start getting hungry before I'm back, they can have some fruit."

"How long are you going to be? I thought this friend only lived around the corner?" Their eldest son had spent the afternoon with a friend and now the afternoon was drawing on, it was time to fetch him home again. Lucy smiled and gestured to the seat that Jeff was currently strapping securely into the back of the corner.

"He does, but…well, Gordon…"

"In other words, Scott's still going to be playing for at least an hour while everyone coos over how cute Gordon is? Can't they keep him for a night - that would change their minds?"

"Jeff!" the father wasn't able to dodge the playful swat to his arm, not when he was still struggling over the straps to fasten the seat to the car. He thought with Gordon being the fourth this would have become easier by now, but it was as if the straps deliberately slithered out of his reach each time he got his son almost secured. Finally, there came the click that he had been waiting for and Jeff softly shut the door as Lucy slid into the driver's seat.

"Drive safe," he murmured, his hands resting on the door. His wife rolled her eyes at him and started the engine, causing Jeff to take a step backwards. Still, he couldn't help pausing for a moment and just watching as she drove away, a fond smile on his face. He knew it was making it such much easier having him home – otherwise a simple pick up would have been trying to get all three boys into the car.

Thinking of the other two had Jeff hurrying back into the yard, smiling when he saw they were where he had left them. John was lying across the grass, studying something intently in front of him. Jeff knew should he approach his son, he would see the object of John's gaze would be something like an ant. Virgil was in the small sand-pit Jeff had dug last summer, singing softly to himself as he drew some sort of picture in the dirt.

Sitting himself back down, Jeff picked up the newspaper at his side and shook it open. He couldn't remember the last time he had had the chance to just sit and read. He knew Virgil would be more than happy where he was and while John had his ant – or whatever sort of creature he had discovered this time – he wouldn't be moving. This was about the one time he would have to just relax before Scott got home and wanted to tell him what he had been doing and all four of the boys decided they were hungry.

The father fully intended to make the most of it. Glancing up occasionally to make sure the boys were still where they should be, Jeff let himself relax for the first time in what felt like an age. Almost half an hour passed with neither John nor Virgil moving. Jeff glanced up and smiled at seeing them in the same place, but then jumped when five seconds later, John was suddenly standing by his leg, watching him with wide eyes.

Trying to hide how hard his heart was pounding, Jeff lowered the paper.

"Can we have some cookies?" John asked innocently. Jeff wasn't fooled. He could tell by the twinkle in his son's eye and the way the corner of John's mouth was twitching slightly he knew full well that he shouldn't be asking for them.

"What does your Mom say?"

"You're not Mommy though," John frowned as if confused. "I asking you, not Mommy. Mommy gone get Scotty."

"You know what she would say, don't you?"

John nodded happily and Jeff found himself reaching out to ruffle his son's hair. He hadn't seen enough of his boys lately, he wasn't going to play the bad guy by refusing them cookies. It was easier than the boys being hungry. Standing up, he checked on Virgil again, this time moving over to the sand-pit. His son was still tracing his finger through the sand, drawing quite happily although yelped slightly when his father's shadow suddenly blocked out the sun. Jeff laughed, scooping him up and hugging him for a moment.

"Sorry, kiddo did I make you jump? Do you want a cookie like Johnny?"

"Down," Virgil demanded, squirming in his father's arms with his own hands stretched back towards the sand and his picture. Realising he would be in trouble with the little boy if he kept him away from it for any longer, Jeff quickly put his son back down and stepped away. John was waiting by the back door, his hand resting on the stair gate they had put in place when Scott had started to crawl.

"Daddy, I hun'ry," John called, forcing the father to stop watching his young son and move towards the door. Virgil might have only been two, but Jeff knew even now that he was going to be talented. These drawings were not the sort of scribbles he had seen from Scott and John when they were that age. Backing away, Jeff found that he was still watching both boys even as he approached the kitchen. Why he trusted them when he was sitting down but not when he was on the move, he didn't know. It was possibly something to do with their love of copying him – if he was still, so were they. But if he was moving, his sons tended to mimic his actions.

Reaching into the kitchen, Jeff cursed under his breath when he realised he was going to have to actually open the gate and enter the house in order to reach. He wasn't sure if it was Lucy putting them far enough back so that Scott couldn't reach now that he was growing at an alarming rate… or her trying to put her husband off from just sneaking them while he was outside. Shuffling John away from the gate, Jeff turned his back to the yard as he unfastened the gate and blinked as he stepped into the cool shade of the house.

It didn't take him long to snatch a handful of cookies and make his way back out into the yard. Refastening the gate, he handed John one while eating another himself. Once he was sure the boys couldn't get in and out on their own accord, he turned back to pass Virgil his one.

Only to stop and blink, staring around.

"Virgil?"

The sand-pit was empty.

Giving John the second cookie in order to keep the boy quiet, Jeff moved over to where Virgil had been. He had seen how hard the boy was concentrating and wanting to continue with his drawing when Jeff had interrupted him, he was sure that the boy hadn't gone far. But approaching the sand-pit, Jeff groaned at the obvious footprints walking out of it. They could only belong to Virgil and Jeff was convinced they hadn't been there a moment again. But what was more puzzling was the paw-prints next to the footprints.

Glancing around, it didn't take long for Jeff to spot what he was looking for and breathe a sigh of relief. It didn't matter how much they tried, their neighbour's cat always found a way into their yard, and all of the boys seemed to love it. Virgil in particular seemed to think it was theirs and Jeff moved over towards the animal. He was convinced that he was going to find his young son with it – talking to it softly as he stroked it with care a two year old could muster.

But as Jeff got closer, he felt his heart miss a beat. There was no cheeky laugh, no untidy mop of hair hiding behind the cat. Virgil didn't seem to be there. Jeff made a shooing motion with his hands, forcing the cat to abandon his spot in the sun. Jeff didn't notice the hiss he received in return – the animal only seem to respond to the children rather than him – he was too busy staring around. He had been so convinced that Virgil was with the cat that he didn't know what to do now it was apparent his son wasn't there.

"Daddy?" A hand tugging on his trousers reminded him that John was still outside. Not knowing what else to do, Jeff picked up the startled boy. John instinctively clutched onto his father, but the scowl on his face made it clear that he was less than happy about the way Jeff carried him across the yard and placed him in the kitchen – the other side of the gate so John couldn't get back out again.

"Just stay there for a moment," Jeff muttered distractedly, trying to make sure his voice didn't snap. The last thing he needed was for John to get upset while Jeff had no idea where the younger brother was.

"Virgil? Virgie, are you hiding?" He called, making his voice light and fun to hide the worry that he could feel coursing through his body. The gate to the main road was still shut, there was no way Virgil could have got out of it in the few seconds that Jeff had his back turned. Jeff tried to tell himself that his son had to be in the yard somewhere – they had cleared the majority of hiding places once Scott had been old enough to go and play. Places that offered seclusion had also been dangerous for young children and there weren't many places left for Virgil to hide.

Still, the father found himself methodically checking them all, calling out for his son as he did so. A glance behind showed that John had moved closer to the gate, clutching onto it as he clearly realised that something was wrong. Jeff tried to smile reassuringly, not wanting John to truly know what was happening, but he knew the boy had never been fooled by false looks.

"Virgil, where are you? Virgil!" Almost ten minutes had passed and Jeff was covered in dirt, having searched everywhere he thought his son could get to – and all the places that were impossible but he checked anyway. He knew that he was going to have to check out the gate. It didn't seem possible for Virgil to get out – they made sure when they brought it the boys had no way around it – but it was clear the two year old was not in the yard.

"Kitty!"

"Not now, John. I just… I need you to be a good boy for me, can you do that?" Jeff didn't even turn to face John, he was too busy doing a final check of the yard before heading out to the road. He couldn't take John with him, but he didn't want to leave the four year old either, not considering Virgil had already managed to give him the slip.

"No, Daddy, kitty!" There was an obstinate tone in John's voice that had Jeff turning. He intended to scold the boy, making John aware that this was something serious and that his father didn't have time to talk about the cat. But as he turned, he realised that John wasn't watching him. He wasn't even looking to where Jeff had last seen the cat. He seemed to be staring at the fence.

"Virgie go through kitty hole," John explained, pointing at the fence as he did so, his eyes wide and clearly willing his father to understand what he was trying to say. For a moment, Jeff could only stare. But then all the pieces fell into place. The cat had been coming through a small hoe it had dug under the fence. Jeff had tried to fill in the hole a few months ago but when he realised the cat had just started digging another one, he had given up trying. He wouldn't win, no matter what.

But right now, he wasn't thinking about the hole as such. He was more thinking about how his two year old son would be able to fit through it. And considering Virgil's obsession with the cat, it wouldn't surprise Jeff in the slightest if the little boy had decided to take the route the animal had previously. The cat could have easily come in while Jeff had his back turned and that would have been long enough for Virgil to get the idea. The hole was almost hidden from the house by a plant pot – he could have still been crawling through at the time Jeff turned and the father wouldn't have seen, especially not as the cat had been on the other side of the yard at the time.

"Good boy, John!" Jeff exclaimed, immediately dropping to his stomach and wriggling forward so that he could awkwardly peer through the hole. He just hoped that no one saw him doing it. To start with, all he could see was next-door's shrubbery that had caused many an argument about having it cut back. Jeff tried tilting his head slightly but he still wasn't given much of a view. Just as he made to stand, something caught his attention.

Unless he was very much mistaken, he could hear Virgil calling for the cat.

"Virgil! Virgil, can you come here, son?"

There was a pause and then Jeff thought he was going to cry in relief when he realised there was no mistaking the child's voice.

"Daddy, no find kitty," Virgil explained, coming back into view and crouching down so that he could see his father through the fence. Jeff stuck an arm through, trying to catch hold of the boy so he could encourage him to crawl back through the hole in the fence. It looked a tight fit even for a two year old. Jeff knew that he had to persuade Virgil to crawl under, there would be no way he could manoeuvre Virgil through the gap without the boy helping him. Virgil, however, clearly had other ideas as he kept himself just out of reach.

"I hafta find him, Daddy."

"Virg…No, Virgil, come back here…" Jeff lunged forward as much as he could until the fence crashed into his shoulder, straining to reach his son as Virgil backed away again. "Virgil!"

It didn't matter how many times Jeff called the child, Virgil had disappeared from sight again. Jeff knew he wouldn't be able to get him back from this side of the fence. Standing up and trying to brush off as much of the dirt as possible, Jeff just about held back a groan as he realised he was going to have to go around. He constantly seemed to have to go over there to get balls back when Scott kicked them over. Getting his son back, however, was a different matter entirely.

"Did you get him, Daddy?"

"Not just yet, John." Jeff strode across and picked up his somewhat surprised son again. There was no way he could go next door and leave John, not even behind the gate. He didn't trust the little boy – knowing John, this would be when he learnt to open the gate and Jeff would retrieve one son and find he lost another. Knowing that he wouldn't be long, he didn't worry about shutting up the house, but just hitched John into a more secure position in his arms and struggled with the side gate one handed.

As he walked down the driveway, Jeff fixed John with a serious look.

"You know your mommy won't be very happy if she finds out about this, don't you? So we'll just keep it as our little secret, right?"

"Okay, Daddy. Just like the cookies?" Realising he had perhaps underestimated John's understanding of precisely what needed to be kept quiet, Jeff smiled.

"Just like the cookies." Wondering how he was going to explain loosing Virgil under the fence, Jeff kept quiet for the rest of the short trip up one driveway and down the next. Desperately hoping the neighbours were in, Jeff steeled himself and rang on the bell. John started squirming to get down, but the father found himself just clinging on tighter. He was not going to let the four year old scamper off anywhere until they were back in their own yard.

It seemed to take an age before there was any sign of life in the house and Jeff found that his heart was speeding up with each moment that passed. Eventually, however, there came the sound of footsteps and the door creaked open. Their neighbours were getting on in age now, but luckily didn't seem to mind how many balls came over the fence. Jeff knew it was a certain way to cause aggravation by having to keep going round to ask for them back and was grateful they were kind.

"Jeff? Is that you? And Scott?"

"John," Jeff corrected, feeling the way John had instantly gone shy at having an-almost stranger in front of him. He stopped squirming to get down and instead hid his face in Jeff's neck.

"Really? How many have you got?"

"Four," Jeff admitted, already beginning to twist his neck in order to try and see through to the man's yard. Every second they spent standing here, there was no telling what Virgil would be doing. Jeff might have cleared their yard to make it safe for the children, but he had no idea the state of his neighbours. "And actually, it was about that I came…"

"Another ball over the fence? Young Scott want to fetch it back himself?"

"This is John. Something like that, only it's not a ball, it's…"

"You just come on through and see if you can get the little one to find it." Jeff was moving even before the man had finished speaking. He didn't have time to correct him about precisely what it was he had lost under the fence, he was just determined to get it back. Then he was going to make sure that all the holes were blocked up, no matter what it took. Almost pushing past the man and hurrying into the yard, Jeff instantly made a beeline for the fence and where he had last seen his son.

"Virgil?"

"You're naming the balls now? I thought you would be getting through enough names with those sons of yours."

"It's not a ball I'm looking for," Jeff muttered, crouching down when he realised there was no answer to his call. "Virgil, where are you? We've come to help you find the cat."

Hoping if he played Virgil's game it would be enough to get the boy to reveal himself, Jeff set John down but took a firm hold of his son's hand as he began to check around some of the bushes, inwardly wincing when he saw the size of the thorns. Within only a few moments, however, Jeff was beginning to realise that searching this yard was being as fruitless as him searching his own. Luckily for Jeff's heart, that was when John tugged on his hand.

Considering his son had been the one to realise where Virgil had gone in the first place, Jeff knew it would be foolish not to listen. Turning to face John, Jeff realised that his son was crouched by the hole, somehow balancing while still holding onto his father. Instinctively, Jeff felt his grip tighten, having no intention of losing another son through the same gap.

"What is it, Johnny?"

"Virgie found kitty," John explained, tugging again until Jeff crouched down next to him. It took a little navigating until Jeff was able to get the angle right in order to peer through the hole again, but when he did, he groaned.

In the time it had taken him to pick up John and get here, Virgil had seen the cat in their own yard and crawled back through the hole. Something made the little boy look up and he waved cheerfully at seeing his dad and brother looking back at him.

"Kitty!" He exclaimed as way of explanation, pointing to the cat that he was practically leaning against. The creature was almost as big as the child – it was just one of the reasons why Jeff had less than friendly thoughts about the animal. But right now, the cat was the least of his worries. He had been so worried about getting here to collect Virgil that he knew he had left the side gate open. It wouldn't be a neighbour's yard that Virgil would crawl into if he noticed; it would be the main road.

Once again scooping John back into his arms, Jeff muttered a hurried thank you and a promise to explain later to his startled neighbour as he hurried back through the house. He left the man to shut his own front door as Jeff practically ran up his driveway and hurtled down his own. As soon as he reached the gate, he found himself breathing a sigh of relief. Staring into the yard, he exhaled sharply as he sagged, seeing that Virgil was back in his sand pit, the cat curled up contently to one side and the boy was drawing again. It looked as if he hadn't moved.

Jeff didn't have time to go further in until the sound of a car made him spin around. Scott was out of the car almost before it had stopped, dashing past his father and brother with barely a muttered hello. The boy didn't stop running until he had climbed into the sand pit as well and Jeff had to smile as Virgil instantly started to explain his picture to his big brother. Jeff knew that if he had asked, Virgil would have found a way – as only a two year old could – to tell him to go away. By the time he had turned back to the car, Lucy had unclipped Gordon and was walking towards them. She paused as she drew level with them, leaning over to kiss John's forehead.

"Don't tell me he has figured out the gate?" She asked, motioning to where they were standing. Jeff could only grimace and by the time he could open his mouth to explain, Lucy had moved past him, calling to Scott and Virgil to come in for dinner. As Jeff watched Virgil clutch at Scott's hand and allow his big brother to help him walk into the house without stumbling, the father realised that John had his head leaning against his shoulder, thumb in mouth. While Virgil seemed quite content, the excitement had clearly taken it out of the four year old. Thinking back to what the boy had said about keeping things a secret, Jeff smiled and proceeded to carry him into the house.

John knew how to keep things quiet. He wouldn't admit that Virgil had gone crawling under the fence. Nor would he admit to not actually knowing how to work the gate – anything that made him feel as old as Scott was always good by John. So if his wife wanted to believe that they had had a near escape that Jeff had handled, then that was fine by the father.

After all, it was better than her finding out that he had actually managed to lose Virgil for a short while.


End file.
